The Muppets Celebrate Earth Day (in 1990)

On April 22, 1990, the Muppets marked Earth Day with a two-hour special jam-packed with guest stars. The list is absurdly long, but I'll give you a taste -- the cast included Neil Patrick Harris, Carl Sagan, Dustin Hoffman, Tone-Loc, Will Smith, Dan Akroyd, Chevy Chase, Downtown Julie Brown, Candice Bergen, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Morgan Freeman, Queen Latifah, Jack Lemmon, Edward James Olmos, Christopher Lloyd, Rick Moranis, Martin Short, Meryl Streep, Alex Trebek, Robin Williams, and...wait for it...the casts of The Cosby Show, Cheers, Married With Children, and Golden Girls. Plus a bunch more. You get the point, though, right? Basically everybody was in this thing. Because the guest list was so long, there's relatively little Muppet material (though that material was directed by Jim Henson), but I'll take any Muppet-related Earth Day video I can get. And, shocker, the whole thing is on YouTube.

So, twenty-three years later, settle in and grab some popcorn, and enjoy this nugget from the past. Keep in mind that Jim Henson died on May 16, 1990, so this was among the last major works he lived to see on the air. Henson was a devoted environmentalist, so I can only assume that 23 years ago today, he was proud.

Part 1

Robin Williams testifies.

Part 2

Doogie Howser, M.D. tries to save Mother Earth while Murphy Brown reports, then we get into the Jeopardy! material.

Part 3

Carl Sagan drops knowledge until Danny DeVito changes the channel in favor of Dennis Miller's Weekend Update segment on SNL. Around 3:50 into this segment is a sketch written by Henson featuring Kermit and fellow swamp animals. And then Dustin Hoffman argues with Robin Williams. Oh yeah...and then E.T. shows up. What?!

Part 4

Let the 1990 TV-friendly rap number begin!

Part 5

Michael Keaton apologizes for his polluting ways, then we eventually get into some Married With Children tomfoolery.

Part 6

Meryl Streep! Kevin Costner with a ponytail! The cast of Cheers!

Part 7

Murphy Brown wraps up her reporting as everybody realizes there's something they can do to help...and then Barbra Streisand performs, before a rapid-fire set of tips from celebrities including Morgan Freeman.

The PSAs

As a final treat, here are a series of 1991 spots promoting Earth Day (for the National Wildlife Federation) featuring Kermit and various other muppets working for Frog Frog & Frog Advertising, trying to develop a catchy slogan for Earth Day.

How Overfishing Threatens the World's Oceans—and What We Can Do About It

BY Kirstin Fawcett

August 16, 2017

iStock

Fish populations around the globe are in serious trouble, thanks to the modern fishing industry. Instead of simply using poles and intuition, factory ships employ radar, sonar, helicopters, and even spotter planes to hunt down schools of fish, which they catch using massive nets and lines studded with hundreds of hooks. These technologies allow us to snare all kinds of deep-water delicacies—but they come with an ecological cost, according to TED-Ed’s video below.

Learn how overfishing harms the environment—and what we can do to protect our oceans—by listening to marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and environmental studies scholar Jennifer Jacquet’s lesson below.

We’re used to the ocean depths holding a significant number of surprises, but not all of us stop to think about what might be lurking under the thick sheet of ice covering real estate in the Antarctic.

One recent revelation: volcanoes. A lot of them.

Research recently published in Geological Society indicates that 91 newly discovered volcanoes are buried in West Antarctica. Scientists had already identified 47, so the sharp uptick makes for one of the largest concentrations of the formations in the world. The volcanoes were found in the West Antarctic Rift System, a 2200-mile long stretch housing volcanoes as small as 326 feet to as large as 12,600 feet—all completely encased under the ice.

The discovery was unearthed by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, where a third-year student suggested the study after examining radar maps of the region and finding evidence of volcanism. The underside of the ice was surveyed for basalt rock; radar detected the volcanoes' sizes and locations.The finding is significant, as the thick ice sheet makes spotting and identifying geological formations difficult.

It’s not currently known which of these volcanoes, if any, might be active or whether they could exacerbate the effects of climate change in the area by melting the underside of the ice sheet, causing it to become unstable. For that reason, finding out their status is considered urgent. Glacier expert Robert Bingham told The Guardian that the potential for eruption is "something we need to determine as quickly as possible."